Lawn care and maintenance equipment of various types such as lawn mowers are used to perform various types of tasks. Generally, many of these devices include a self-contained power source such as an engine or motor powered by various fuels, electricity or batteries. These power sources add cost to each piece of equipment and necessitate the use of additional materials, labor and expense for construction, use and maintenance. For example, many of these engines require oil, other chemical lubricants and routine maintenance. Use of such materials also creates disposal and waste problems.
One type of such lawn care and maintenance equipment is self powered lawn mowers including riding mowers and walking mowers. Such mowers are generally equipped with a self-contained power source, typically rotary engines or motors with a cutting blade attached to a shaft of the engine. The engine shaft of these mowers rotates to drive the blade for cutting or mulching grass and other lawn coverings.
Previously, attempts have been made to power an auxiliary apparatus such as an edgier or trimmer by the central engine shaft of the lawn mower. Such power transfer mechanisms have powered the auxiliary apparatus directly from the existing engine shaft such that the engine blade and auxiliary apparatus are driven and spin in unison when the lawn mower engine is engaged. Generally, such apparatus have used pulleys or gears connected to the engine shaft to power the auxiliary apparatus. In these apparatus, the cutting blade generally remains connected to the original engine shaft. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,170,099 to Owens. Some auxiliary lawn care apparatus have included mechanisms, such as levers, to engage or disengage the auxiliary lawn care apparatus with the engine shaft. These auxiliary apparatus have, however, been powered in unison with the engine blade which spins at all times when the engine is working. Further, these lawn care apparatus have generally been designed to be utilized with one apparatus such as an edgier attached to a conventional mower.
Cutting blades of such lawn mowers are generally designed to have sharp edges for cutting or mulching and to rotate at high speeds under great power. Such cutting blades can present dangerous hazards especially under conditions of operator misuse. A lawn mower which has its blade spinning and an auxiliary apparatus, such as an edgier, attached can create safety hazards with both the cutting blade and attached apparatus running simultaneously. For example, an operator may inadvertently place an object or a body part in proximity with the rotating cutting blade while utilizing an attached auxiliary apparatus. Further, the cutting blade can contact an object, such as a rock, in its path of rotation and damage the equipment or create a projectile hazard. In addition, operating the cutting blade can drain on power of the engine, thereby making less power available for the auxiliary apparatus.
Therefore, the multi-functional lawn mower apparatus according to the present invention can be provided utilizing the converter mechanism and methods described herein by both retrofitting a conventional single function lawn mower and in the design of a new lawn mower.